Suur Ala

First Appearance and Context

Suur Ala is first observed at the Concent of Saunt Edhar, working near the Refectory kitchen with Suur Tulia to cut old tires into sandals while fraas prepare food inside. This practical scene unfolds in the lead‑up to Apert.

Roles/Actions and Affiliations

• Within her Tenner cohort, Ala often takes charge in crowded or hurried situations, including bell‑ringing duties.
• Helps keep peers on track with assigned chores; at one point, she reminds a peer to handle the kitchen cleanup after the midday meal.
• In instruction, she participates actively and offers confident answers and suggestions; during a lively discussion led by Fraa Orolo about plausibility and “filtering,” she sharply challenged a peer to own his position.
• When peers returned injured after a Provener shift outside the walls, she arrived with rags, covered pooled blood, steadied the injured, and helped with cleanup—showing calm, hands‑on leadership.
• Together with Suur Tulia, she rounded up the bell team, rehearsed unfamiliar changes, and then rang them ahead of Anathem, a major aut at the Mynster.
• After the season’s Eliger, Ala joined the Order of the New Circle; among her peers this was long expected as a step toward hierarch responsibilities.
• Publicly confronted three peers in the meadow for holding secretive conversations and casting significant glances at the sky and toward Shuf’s Dowment, directly accusing them of being “up to something.”
• Later tracked two peers to a clandestine meeting beneath Shuf’s Dowment and intercepted their exit by stringing a chord across a doorway; she confronted them and stated she had told no one else about their activities.

Relationships

• Works closely with Suur Tulia during chores and bell work; the two are often seen outside chalk halls debating until they converge on the same understanding.
• A peer of Fraa Erasmas within the same cohort; his account notes her decision to join the New Circle and observes her coordinating bell‑ringing preparations.
• Occasionally clashes with peers in dialog (notably Jesry), reflecting a direct, no‑nonsense style.
• With Erasmas, she has lately watched him closely and confronted him privately about secretive behavior; he worried she might report them, but she said she had told no one.
• With Jesry, interactions are prickly; during the interception at Shuf’s Dowment she recognized him despite a hood and he fled.

Descriptions/Characteristics

Assertive, brisk, and comfortable taking charge; she is forthright in dialog and not shy about delivering a frosty look or a pointed remark when a peer equivocates. She recognizes practical solutions quickly and shifts from command to collaboration when they are at hand.

Distinctive appearance: a round head on a slender neck, accentuated by a short haircut maintained by another suur since Apert; huge eyes, a delicate sharp nose, and a wide mouth. She is small and bony where Tulia is more generous, and her hawk‑like focus matches her decisive temperament.

Current Status/Location

Resides at the Concent of Saunt Edhar. Following Eliger, she is a member of the Order of the New Circle; previously she was active among the current fids of the Decenarian math.